Leslie Marks

Category: Reading Games

In the early grades, reading and spelling work together hand in hand. Children are learning phonics patterns, which allow them to break the secret code of reading – and these same patterns are also needed for their writing. This includes much more than the sounds of the letters of the alphabet. These phonics patterns encompass both consonant and vowel combinations: combinations of consonants like ”fr” for friend and double vowels like “oa” for boat. From first through third grades, these …

Including the first 100 high frequency words Learning to spell correctly is a gradual process. While children are writing down the sounds they hear for words, they are also introduced to words used most often, including words like “the” and “of” which don’t sound like they’re written. The first 100 of these high frequency words make up 50% of what we read! Most of these first 100 words are learned by the end of first grade. These words need to …

Children become engaged when learning is fun. Here are 3 simple games that can be used for learning the alphabet letters and sounds or words to be learned by sight. By the end of first grade, students usually learn the first 100 words that are used the most, which make up 50% of what we read! These are words such as “the, of, saw, was,” etc. You can look up “high frequency words” on the computer and find the first, …

At age three or four, children all around the world show a natural impulse to mimic the writing they see. When this impulse strikes, children will write anywhere, much to our chagrin. How can you help channel and sustain this impulse, especially as your child comes up against the challenges of learning spelling, grammar, and composition? Writing reinforces learning to read and reading helps develop writing skills. Some children even learn to read through writing. There are three basic parts …